Nigel Farage's party must be given the same coverage as the Tories, Labour and
the Liberal Democrats in the run up to the European elections, the regulator
says

Ukip have been given a boost in the run up to the European elections after Ofcom ruled that broadcasters have to treat them in the same way as any other major party.

The decision means Ukip will be given the same status as the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats for election broadcasts and news coverage of the May 22 contest.

The party welcomed the regulator’s landmark ruling, claiming it was a refection of the fact that Ukip is a “major player in British politics”.

However, it only applies to England and Wales as Ukip's limited support in Scotland means it will not have to be treated as a major party by broadcasters north of the border or in news coverage focusing solely on Scottish constituencies.

Although the ruling fell short of Ukip’s demands to be treated as a major party on a permanent basis, it is likely to fuel speculation about whether Nigel Farage will be invited to join the televised leaders’ debates in the run up to the next General Election.

Ukip director of communications Patrick O'Flynn said: "This Ofcom decision was a fairly obvious one given the success of Ukip over the past few years.

“We hope that all broadcast outlets will reflect on the fact that patterns of support in British politics are changing very quickly and that more and more people are supporting and voting for Ukip.

"It makes no sense for patterns of coverage to be based on patterns of electoral support that pertained four years ago. Ukip is a major player in British politics now."

The Ofcom ruling means that broadcasters transmitting party election broadcasts on a UK or Great Britain-wide basis, such as Channel 5 in the European parliamentary elections, will be obliged to treat Ukip as a major party, in the same way they would the Tories, Labour or Lib Dems.

STV will not be required to treat Ukip as a major party for the purposes of broadcasting Scotland-only party election broadcasts because Nigel Farage's party has "low levels of support" in the country, Ofcom said.

But ITV Wales will have to treat Ukip as a major party due to the "significant levels of support" there.

The Ofcom rules state that "due weight must be given to the coverage of major parties during the election period" and there must be "due impartiality".